Peavey basses; Most desirable to Least desirable.

[One_Dude]

For the Peavey fans out there, will you list your opinion of the Peavey bass models throughout their years of production, from the most desirable model to the least desirable model. Please include basses from all countries of manufacture, without regard to current price or market value. I won't offer my opinion since I don't want to skew the results.

I will say that I have two Peavey basses and several Peavey guitars in my collection. I also have several Peavey amps and sound gear, so I am a fan, but for this thread let's just talk about their basses.

Thanks in advance,

Thump on,

One_Dude

 

[Gluvhand]

For the Peavey fans out there, will you list your opinion of the Peavey bass models throughout their years of production, from the most desirable model to the least desirable model. Please include basses from all countries of manufacture, without regard to current price or market value. I won't offer my opinion since I don't want to skew the results.

I will say that I have two Peavey basses and several Peavey guitars in my collection. I also have several Peavey amps and sound gear, so I am a fan, but for this thread let's just talk about their basses.

Thanks in advance,

Thump on,

One_Dude

Cool question. I’m not going to answer because I own just one Peavey bass and have only played a handful but want to hear what the more experienced have to say.

 

[One_Dude]

Moved to the Peavey Club thread on this same "basses" forum.

Thump on,

One_Dude

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I would say the most desirable Peavey bass is the Brian Bromberg signature Quad 4 or 5. Personally, a Cirrus 5 is the the next most desirable Peavey for me. I really love my Forum AX5, but it is so rare, there is really no desire for it.

 

[FranF]

Wow, tough one. I've had many, new and used from '85 up until a few years ago: Foundation, Millennium, T-40, TL-5 and a Sarzo. The Sarzo was the last to go, and is the only one I miss. It was sublime.

 

[JRA]

i once bought two peavey furys (fretted and fretless) at the same time for a project i was in (both white!) and i thought the fretless was pretty good ---and it was fun to play with a nice slim neck. i've played other peavey models (friends) and i thought all of them were pretty good but they were set up for someone else's gig so none of them were 'perfect' for me. i'm definitely in the group who thinks that peaveys are often underrated and that they usually present as a great bang-for-buck option.

per the OP: even though they're at the bottom of the food chain, i voted "fury."

 

[CallMeAl]

Most to least fave:

Peavey Fury- I’ve played but never owned. I’m a sucker for a p bass with a slim neck

Peavey milestone- owned two, the second is currently my backup. Both the older Korean, milestone III with J-style pickups. Sounds pretty good, and a dream to play.

Peavey Forum- my only US peavey, I had the one with the singe super ferrite. Very well built, but kinda beefy neck (odd for a Peavey.) sold this for a move, without truly understanding what I had.

Peavey T40- sure they sound great, but... weight?

Peavey Millennium- I demoed a few, the necks were great (as usual for Peavey) but overall sound and construction just felt... cheap

 

[wvbass]

Out of what I've seen, played, and owned?

Most desirable? US Cirrus, US Millennium, and Sarzo basses. Right below that are Dyna basses and the super-ferrite Foundations. Least desirable? The imports and T- series basses.

I currently own a Sarzo, a Dyna Unity, 2 Foundations, a Cirrus BXP, and a T-40. The Sarzo is the best of them. The T-40 would be right there with it, but the extreme weight is disqualifying. I don't mind a heavy bass, but a T-40 is like two heavy basses in one. Or maybe three.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Most to least fave:

Peavey Fury- I’ve played but never owned. I’m a sucker for a p bass with a slim neck

Peavey milestone- owned two, the second is currently my backup. Both the older Korean, milestone III with J-style pickups. Sounds pretty good, and a dream to play.

Peavey Forum- my only US peavey, I had the one with the singe super ferrite. Very well built, but kinda beefy neck (odd for a Peavey.) sold this for a move, without truly understanding what I had.

Peavey T40- sure they sound great, but... weight?

Peavey Millennium- I demoed a few, the necks were great (as usual for Peavey) but overall sound and construction just felt... cheap

Were you playing American or import Millenniums? I always wished that big humbucker had either been splittable or in the actual Stingray position, but I thought they were very well made basses.

 

[CallMeAl]

Were you playing American or import Millenniums? I always wished that big humbucker had either been splittable or in the actual Stingray position, but I thought they were very well made basses.

The import, bxp, with the J style pickups. Didn’t even realize there was a US Millennium

peavey is funny; they have the same bass name with wildly different pickups, then put the same pickups is several different basses!

 

[Dr. Cheese]

The import, bxp, with the J style pickups. Didn’t even realize there was a US Millennium

peavey is funny; they have the same bass name with wildly different pickups, then put the same pickups is several different basses!

Here are some videos of the J/MM Millennium. Dan Lakin told me to my face that he created the 55-02 because of this bass.

 

[scuzzy]

B-Quad
US millennium
US Cirrus
GV bass
Sarzo bass
T20
US Furry

The rest fall into place after those

 

[TheReceder]

I I probably play the Foundations more than anything else... but I can't ignore the others quality.
1. Bquad
2. Cirrus
3, Midibass
4, Foundation(s)
My guess is one day I'll add a Gbass. I nearly snagged a t40 a couple weeks back, but the rising prices passed me by.

 

[deernaes]

I've owned many Peaveys.
T-40s, B-Quads, Foundations, RJ-IVs, G-Bass, and Axcelerator 5.
I've liked them all, but at this moment I only own an RJ-IV, and that's my #1.
The B-Quads were nice, especially the fretless.
The Axcelerator 5 played and sounded exceptional.
The Foundations were workhorses.
The T-40s were great sounding, but so heavy.
The G-Bass...meh....

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Stop drawing attention to how awesome peavey basses are, they’re in short supply already! I really wish they’d reissue the T series already.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

For the Peavey fans out there, will you list your opinion of the Peavey bass models throughout their years of production, from the most desirable model to the least desirable model. Please include basses from all countries of manufacture, without regard to current price or market value. I won't offer my opinion since I don't want to skew the results.

I will say that I have two Peavey basses and several Peavey guitars in my collection. I also have several Peavey amps and sound gear, so I am a fan, but for this thread let's just talk about their basses.

Thanks in advance,

Thump on,

One_Dude

I owned a 1984 Foundation that I traded for a 1987 Foundation “S” which I still have. Out of 13 electric bass guitars, it would be the last one I’d get rid of if I had to liquidate. The group includes three Fenders (P, J, Mustang), two Carvins (LB75 & BB75 fretless), a Gibson T-Bird, and two other Peavys (Fury & GBass IV), so the 1987 Foundation “S” has legitimate competitors. I have played some later Foundations, and it seems the quality of Foundations began slipping some in the 1990’s and I think was discontinued in the 90s. The Fury I have is an early 90s. It has some wonky fretwork up in the teen frets, but is otherwise a very good bass, and quite heavy. I’m not sure of the production dates for the Fury.

The GBass IV is around a 98 model. It’s kinda unique among Peaveys having a graphite encased neck. It has a later body shape that is light and very comfortable due to a longer, thinner upper horn. The body shape is more like other higher end Peavey models, similar to the Cirrus & Millennium. It’s a very nice bass. It has an 18v active preamp / single pickup system with no passive mode. The electronics are not my favorite, but functional. The structural part of the bass is as good as anything I have owned or played. The GBass IV was discontinued around 2000.

A GBass V was also made, but I don’t know the date range of production. It was a little like a predecessor to the Cirrus 5. I do know that those who own them think very highly of them.

 

[TheReceder]

Forgot to mention... just did some recording, and the Sound tech picked my fretless Foundation over all the other basses I'd brought. Funny how a $150 bass was more desirable than basses worth 10-20 times as much.

Admittedly the video got a prettier bass.

 

[fhm555]

Wow, tough one. I've had many, new and used from '85 up until a few years ago: Foundation, Millennium, T-40, TL-5 and a Sarzo. The Sarzo was the last to go, and is the only one I miss. It was sublime.

Back when i was playing Peavey exclusively I tried a Sarzo one day at a music store in Pensacola. It was lust at first blush but i was less than a year with in my Dyna fiver and we were just catching our stride together so i decided the Sarzo could wait a while. I never saw another one in person. Not long after that i tried a Fender US J Plus and that was the end of my desire to play anything else for almost ten years.
By the time i needed something to cover some outdoor shows in the near 100% humidity of the NW FL panhandle in high summer, all i could find with a Peavey logo were those mind boggling set neck coffee table basses they were making. I would have loved to have found a decent used Foundation or DynaBass, but time was tight and i wound up with a nice low mileage Mexican Fender J.
Over the years I’ve owned a T40, a bunch of new and used four string Foundations and DynaBasses and the one Dyna fiver. Of those i like the T40 the least and I’d say i liked the Sarzo best, but i never owned one so i’d pick the Dyna fiver as the best i actually had any time with, but they were all great basses, not a klinker among them, including the (extremely) high mileage four string basses i had from time to time.

 

[The Deep]

My top three....

Cirrus: very nice if you can abide a thin neck and narrow nut width (I personally can’t).
Sarzo: best overall for my preferences, but a rare find these days.
T-40: extreme tonal versatility, but most are uncomfortably heavy and I find them a tad bit ergonomically challenged.

Never cared for the Fury or Foundation - too thin and flimsy feeling in the neck department.

I don’t have experience with any of the others.

 

[C Stone]

My first really playable bass was a Peavey Fury bought about 30 years ago, still love it! I also own a bxp fiver which I think it's an amazing bass, comfortable, has a tight low B, and a great quilt top finish. I have other basses and I have played a few different Peavey models over the years just not enough time on those to comment, but if I had to choose only one bass it would be my made in the US Fury.